Author: Skip Perry

With almost 50 players in attendance, SFPA members filled up the back half of Family Billiards on Sunday in one of our largest tournaments in memory. Traditionally a day for West Coast Challenge individual qualifying, the new once-yearly WCC schedule meant that these events were just for pride and cash prizes. No one was surprised at the decision to play shortened matches of race to 2 in the winners bracket and race to 1 in the losers bracket. The hall felt even more crowded thanks to the new Sunday APA 9-ball league taking up three tables along the wall.

After a fun afternoon of pool, Kevin Scheper (All-Star), Yuko Takahashi (Rising Star), Rick Bradford (Star Search), and Crystal Kelem (Women’s) emerged victorious in the four divisions. Please click through to the Tournaments tab to view full results and brackets.

This concludes our tournament schedule for the year. The Records & Superlatives page has been updated to include all of this season’s events, with Mike Maxwell, Tom Seymour, Thayer McDougle, Crystal Kelem, and Rick Bradford adding to their record-setting tallies.

Good luck to all remaining teams in the playoffs and we will see you at the awards party on February 20!

We had an amazing turnout of 46 players for the 80th Hi-Lo Memorial scotch doubles tournament. Spirited bidding in the Calcutta led to a banner fundraising day for SFPA and big payouts for the winning teams and owners.

Congratulations to Rob Ross and Shreesh Nayak for tearing their way through the losers’ bracket to take down the title!

Playoff time is here!

Brackets

• City Championship
• Founders Cup

Format & eligibility

• Players with 25% participation are eligible to participate (14 or more games).
• Unlike typical league nights, playoff matches will be played as a race to 9. Once a team reaches 9 wins, the match is over.
• Also unlike typical league nights, only one time out is allowed per game, only the player at the table can call a time out, and the player at the table must designate a single teammate to participate in the time out.
• If a match is tied 8-8 after 16 games, each captain chooses a player to compete in the tiebreaking game. Players in the 17th game lag for the break.
• If the shot clock is in effect, players get one 60-second extension per game.

We ask captains to report scores promptly and accurately so we can schedule upcoming matches the next morning.

City Championship

The top 16 teams have qualified to compete for the City Championship. This is a double-elimination tournament with some losers bracket matches taking place on Thursday nights – please make sure to look closely at the schedule.

Founders Cup

All other teams will play for the Founders Cup. This is a single-elimination tournament with a 3rd place consolation match.

More information

Click the Playoffs tab on the site menu for brackets and schedules. The handbook also has more in-depth information about the playoff format and history.

Good luck to all teams!

We’re getting down to the wire for the Fall 2023 season, with only one week remaining before the playoffs. Please check the Playoffs tab on the home page for more information about timelines, rules changes, and qualification.

There will be no league play on Tuesday, December 26. As always, we encourage you to visit one of our sponsor venues for a couple rounds of drinks and some free pool.

However you celebrate the holidays, we wish you a relaxing and fun week and a happy new year!

Congratulations to the following players for their top-4 finishes in the Bernie King Memorial:

1. Mike Maxwell
2. JM Reasonda
t-3. Jaime Dizon
t-3. Billy Tzeng

With a huge 29 league members and friends participating, the event raised $1200 for the Shanti Project. Thanks to all who played!